Calling Home

[SteelerCruiser]

1st time Cruising the East Carib. Looking for some advice on if there is anywhere near the dock that offers an inexpensive way of calling back Home to the USA. ie...sells calling cards or pay by the minute etc...I know that you can use a cell phone to call home but I am looking for something similar the Calling Card/Pay Phone option that they have in Nassau. Usually it is a much cheaper option this way rather than paying $2.50-$3.00/ minute for the Cell Phone. Thanks in advance for any help! I am also looking for the same advice for San Juan PR, St. Thomas, & Antigua. Thanks Again!

Edited August 21, 2010 by SteelerCruiser

[thinfool]

1st time Cruising the East Carib. Looking for some advice on if there is anywhere near the dock that offers an inexpensive way of calling back Home to the USA. ie...sells calling cards or pay by the minute etc...I know that you can use a cell phone to call home but I am looking for something similar the Calling Card/Pay Phone option that they have in Nassau. Usually it is a much cheaper option this way rather than paying $2.50-$3.00/ minute for the Cell Phone. Thanks in advance for any help! I am also looking for the same advice for San Juan PR, St. Thomas, & Tortola. Thanks Again!

 

San Juan and St Thomas are US Ports...use your cell phone all you want.

[SteelerCruiser]

Thanks for the info.......I will check with my Cell company to be sure.....but in the past in other areas of the Caribbean we have had trouble using our cell phones (yes they are set up for Intl Calling) so I am just inquiring as to where there is a Calling Card Station/ Pay Phone bank. Thanks again for the advice!

[bubbachief]

Thanks for the info.......I will check with my Cell company to be sure.....but in the past in other areas of the Caribbean we have had trouble using our cell phones (yes they are set up for Intl Calling) so I am just inquiring as to where there is a Calling Card Station/ Pay Phone bank. Thanks again for the advice!

 

We have Sprint and St Thomas was included in our normal coverage.

[O2B@Cagain]

Sprint and AT&T are local providers, no extra charge. T-Mobile, I think it depends on your plan. Verizon is roaming and expensive. You do have to be careful you aren't picking up a BVI tower, as that IS international. BTW, most cruise ports have calling centers set up for crew. If you ask them (crew), they can usually tell you where to call, where to get free wi-fi, etc.

[laser110]

We have Verizon and had no problem calling home any time we are on St. Thomas. Just double check your bill and make sure it doesn't charge you for roaming to Puerto Rico or the BVI. We had this one time and when we got the bill the roaming charges were crazy. I called Verizon told them we were never in the BVI, or PR gave them the dates of our trip and where we stayed. The person on the other end said no problem and removed all the roaming charges for us.

 

Scott

[sarge98]

I have a Tracfone, per-payed. It can be used anywhere that is US territory which includes Virgin Islands. Charged like inside USA.

[vttea]

Be mindful with Verizon in St. Thomas. According to current information, voice calls are $1.99/minute while text messages are treated at domestic rates (which means free for most people). Data is pay-as-you-go only (not covered under the global data plan), which can be pricey.

 

Verizon Wireless has a handy online tool to see what the rates are. You plug in your cruise ship and/or your countries visiting, and it will give you a complete run down on all the rates and options.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller

[roothy123]

I have Virgin Mobile, which uses the Sprint network. Phone worked great last week (with no roaming, just the usual minutes limitation I have) in San Juan and St. Thomas (also St. Croix and St. John). I just made sure I was off the ship so there was no chance of the call going through the ship, resulting in a charge.

[2 cruzen]

Be mindful with Verizon in St. Thomas. According to current information, voice calls are $1.99/minute while text messages are treated at domestic rates (which means free for most people). Data is pay-as-you-go only (not covered under the global data plan), which can be pricey.

 

Verizon Wireless has a handy online tool to see what the rates are. You plug in your cruise ship and/or your countries visiting, and it will give you a complete run down on all the rates and options.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller

 

Thank you for the link....very helpful.